


Bless My Soul

by Taliesin_niseilaT



Series: Allenbert Week 2017 [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Allenbert Week 2017, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Prompt: Soulmates AU, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-20 07:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9481469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taliesin_niseilaT/pseuds/Taliesin_niseilaT
Summary: Barry stops and stares at the name on the registration form. He doesn’t need to roll up his sleeve to know that the handwriting matches the tattoo on his wrist down to the last serif.





	

_bless my soul_

 

Captain Singh has just told Barry to clear a desk for a new CSI. ‘I have to share the lab?’

‘Is that going to be a problem, Allen?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Good. He starts tomorrow morning.’

Barry cleans up the lab the best he can so as to make a reasonable impression on the new guy. He’s glad he bothered the next morning, when a handsome blond in a suit – Barry likes men in suits, he definitely does – walks in. ‘Good morning,’ he says in a British accent, handing Barry a stack of forms human resources made him fill out. ‘Good morning,’ Barry replies, accepting the files.

 

Barry stops and stares at the name on the registration form. _Julian Albert Desmond._ He doesn’t need to roll up his sleeve to know that the handwriting matches the tattoo on his wrist down to the last serif. _Oh fuck. It’s him._ He looks up at the blond man in awe.

‘Is something wrong?’ Julian says. ‘Captain Singh hired me, he told me to come right up –’

‘No, no, that’s fine,’ Barry says hastily, ‘I’m Barry Allen.’ Best to put it out there straightaway.

Julian’s blue eyes widen and he reaches for his sleeve, pulls it up as if he doesn’t know what’s there. ‘Bartholomew Henry Allen?’

Barry laughs nervously. ‘Yeah.’

‘Fuck,’ Julian says, ‘Well, this is awkward.’

‘You could say that. Um, how about I just show you around the lab and we keep this conversation for later?’

‘That’s probably for the best.’

 

By the end of the week, Barry’s convinced the tattoo he was born with is an administrative error. ‘Soulmate my ass,’ he gripes to his sister Iris on Friday night, ‘He’s done nothing but criticise my work ever since he came in on Tuesday and caught me taking a personal phone call.’

‘Yes, he certainly riles you up,’ Iris observes.

‘He’s a jerk – why are you looking at me like that?’

‘I’m just saying. There’s chemistry.’

‘Chemistry!’ Barry scoffs.

 

In truth, Julian loves arguing with Barry, loves to see him fired up. It’s a bit of a turn-on, and it’s OK for Julian to think that because Barry’s name has been on his wrist all his life. He remembers trying to date other people and how it inevitably ended in disaster because he kept wondering who was really out there for him. This man, apparently, with his blatant disregard for the rules, his sparkling green eyes, his cute smile, and an intelligence he only applies to his job part-time.

 

They still haven’t had _that_ conversation yet, and Julian can’t blame Barry for not being his biggest fan right now, so he’s essentially waiting for the right moment to bring it up because Barry won’t. Except, how do you slip something like that into workplace chatter? ‘Could you hand me those DNA results? And by the way, we’re destined to be in love for the rest of our lives, do you think we should move in together?’ Clearly, Julian needs a subtler approach.

 

He e-mails his sister Emma to ask for advice, starting with a simple _I met my soulmate_ and expanding on the situation in a follow-up e-mail. Emma calls him as soon as she can, never looking at the time difference, which is how Julian ends up taking her call in bed at five thirty in the morning. ‘Tell me everything,’ she says without preamble.

‘I got a new job at the local police department. Allen – Barry – is my colleague there. Our marks match. I think he hates me though.’

‘Well, are you nice to him, or just your charming self?’ Emma always gets straight to the heart of the matter and Julian loves her for it, even if it annoys him at times.

‘He took a personal call during work hours,’ Julian sputters. He can practically hear his sister facepalm. ‘Oh my god, Jules, you gave him shit for a phone call and now he doesn’t like you.’ Julian pinches the bridge of his nose. ‘Basically. Yes.’ Emma has the sheer audacity to laugh. ‘This could only happen to you,’ she snorts. Julian can’t suppress a yawn.

‘Are you still in bed?’

‘Yeah, Em, it’s twenty to six in the morning.’

‘Oops,’ she says, ‘Sorry. It’s not every day that your brother meets his soulmate so... I’ll let you get some more sleep. Listen, Julian, there’s only one thing I can say to you. _Be nice to him._ I love you.’

‘I love you, Emma. Have a good day.’

 

 _Be nice to him._ OK, he can do that. Julian buys Barry a coffee just the way he likes it, not that he’s been paying attention or anything. Barry’s clearly confused when he’s handed his coffee. ‘Um... thanks.’

‘Maybe coffee will help your brain work better.’ _Shit._ That’s not _being nice._ Barry looks relieved though – this is the Julian he knows his way around. But Julian’s not done yet. ‘Barry, do you want to get dinner together later?’ Barry sort of gapes at him for a bit. ‘I think it’s time that we talked, don’t you?’

‘OK,’ Barry says, ‘We’ll go for dinner.’

 

And it’s awkward as fuck for at least half an hour. They don’t really have anything to talk about since they silently agreed not to insult each other for a change. All Julian wants to say is, ‘How did the universe think it would be a great idea to saddle me with you?’ so finally, he does, just to break the silence. Barry shoots back immediately, ‘Just what I was thinking, I must have really fucked up in a past life to deserve this.’ Their eyes meet and there’s a spark there at last when they both burst out laughing. ‘Oh god, we are a hot mess,’ Barry says.

 

‘Can I see your mark?’ Julian asks suddenly. Barry pulls up his sleeve and Julian tentatively slides his fingers over the other man’s wrist as he studies the exact replica of his name in his handwriting. Barry’s skin tingles at Julian’s touch. He shows Barry his own tattoo after that and laughs when he apologises for the messy handwriting. ‘Seriously, yours is so neat, and you’re stuck with my ugly scrawl for the rest of your life.’

‘I’m also stuck with _you_ for the rest of my life,’ Julian counters.

‘How rude,’ Barry deadpans.

 

They spend the rest of the evening discussing their families and their lives up until meeting each other, and it seems they have more in common than they thought.

 

Two months later, when Julian and Barry finally kiss after an evening of fiercely competitive chess, they’re quite sure where their life is headed.


End file.
